The release of “Kizazi Moto: Generation Fire,” a pan-African Disney Plus Original animated series that will drop globally on the streaming platform on July 5, could be a game-changer for an African animation industry that continues to scale new heights.
Executive produced by Oscar winner Peter Ramsey (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”), Anthony Silverston of South African animation house Triggerfish, and Tandayi Nyeke, the 10-part anthology series offers a dizzying blend of mythology, science fiction and Afrofuturism, presenting 10 bold, wholly original visions of the future from a distinctly African perspective.
The series, which is produced by Triggerfish, features animators from six African countries drawing on their own ancient histories, folklores and contemporary urban landscapes to reimagine a world populated with cyborg cattle, flying minibus-taxis, radioactive octopi and robotic birds. Collectively, they present a portrait of the continent that’s never been seen before.
Ramsey and the show’s creators insist this is only the beginning, with “Kizazi Moto” giving audiences a tantalizing glimpse of what lies ahead for a continent only beginning to be recognized on the global stage. “[African animators] are ready to say something totally new,” he said. “And the rest of the world will be very lucky to hear it.”
The Oscar winner and L.A. native, who was the first African American tapped by a studio to direct a big-budget animated feature with “Spider-Verse,” attended the Cape Town Animation Festival in 2019 and recalled being “blown away by the creative energy and positivity and warmth of the African animation community.” “It really felt like something new was happening here,” he said.
When he was later approached by Triggerfish about a potential collaboration with Disney+, Ramsey didn’t hesitate to come on board. “The energy that I felt being there, [I thought that] if we could capture that and show it to the rest of the world, we’d really be doing something special,” he said.
Marie Lora-Mungai, founder of creative sector advisory firm Restless Global, described the release of “Kizazi Moto” as a “watershed moment” for the African animation industry.
“This anthology is the result of a true labor of love from South African studio Triggerfish, who initiated the relationship with Disney and shepherded this project over many years,” she said. “It illustrates what African creators and animators can achieve when given the proper resources in terms of training, time and budget … [and] will without any doubt inspire and energize many young animators from across the continent.”
The series is a triumph for the homegrown, Cape Town-based production house Triggerfish, which has grown from a small, stop-motion animation studio born in the tumultuous years of the post-apartheid era into an industry powerhouse that has won some of the animation world’s most prestigious awards, including a Cristal at Annecy and an International Emmy for Roald Dahl’s “Revolting Rhymes” (2016), an Oscar-nominated collaboration with Britain’s Magic Light Pictures.
After offering a sneak peek of “Kizazi Moto” this year at Annecy, Triggerfish’s Silverston said he’s convinced that African animation has finally “turned a corner.”
“There were so many other African creatives and animators present. It really feels like there’s this wave of momentum now, that people are finally waking up to what is possible and what we can do,” he said.
Disney in recent years has ramped up its investment in Africa as part of a broader push to diversify its animation slate, partnering with Triggerfish in 2015 on the Triggerfish Story Lab, a pan-African talent search that aimed to discover the next generation of animators on the continent. Currently in the pipeline for the Mouse House is the futuristic series “Iwájú,” a Disney+ Original from the pan-African entertainment company Kugali, as well as “Kiff,” a musical comedy show from South African creators and executive producers Lucy Heavens and Nic Smal.
Triggerfish, meanwhile, is one of just nine animation studios across the globe to produce a short film for the streamer’s upcoming “Star Wars: Visions Vol. 2” anthology. Silverston teased several projects that the studio already has in development with “Kizazi Moto” creators, while Ramsey also hinted at his own hopes to pick up where the series left off.
“There is stuff floating out there that could very well happen. I really hope it does,” he said. “I’m hoping we can do another ‘Kizazi Moto’ anthology or two, because there’s so many talented people here … There’s a lot to explore. A lot to tell.”
Raymond Malinga, the Ugandan creator of the “Kizazi Moto” short “Herderboy,” said that the show is validation of years of grassroots work across the continent to develop the animation industry, insisting that “sometimes it feels like we’re not given a chance, and we have to fight for that chance.”
He had a simple message for studio heads and global audiences ahead of “Kizazi Moto’s” worldwide rollout. “See what we can do,” he said. “Do you want more? Pay attention to what we do next.”